The Islanders
by oranginaholic
Summary: a tale of adventure...that's all I got so far.
1. A Trip Down Backstory Lane

**A Trip Down Back-story Lane**

On one of the larger islands, in a chain called the Destiny Islands, life pretty much followed a regular routine. This was true even in the summer months; there were those who always went off on their annual adventures while shop keepers and their apprentices stayed behind. They passed their time during those lazy days minding the counter when the occasional customer trickled in, and visiting neighboring shops when the tumbleweeds started rolling in.

That is how this story begins. The paths of three orphaned teenagers crossed ant their destinies intertwined. Before we begin their tale allow me to introduce this trio starting off with the one with whom I bear the closest relationship to, my grandmother, Yesenia Purlue.

Her appearance was one most peculiar. I'm sure you have heard the old fairy tale with the wicked witch of green skin. Well, while Ms. Purlue was no more an evil witch than you or I, she had a similar affliction for want of a better word. Where that witch's skin was green. Yesenia's was of a brilliant violet hue. Her hair was a natural shade of metallic blue, and wielded the power of ice. She could create it out of thin air and manipulate it as she pleased; she discovered this talent at a young age.

While she was but seven years old, her home was placed under attack by creatures called the heartless. Yesenia sought refuge at Kevin's, an old family friend, but when they returned to her house her parents had vanished. They were kidnapped by the heartless and the villains who controlled them. As she grew up in Kevin's shop, Yesenia became close friends with a girl named Autum who was working at the supply shop with help from Sally until she was old enough to run it on her own.

Autum's skin was of a more normal hue. She was short, but her curves were large. She usually wore some combination of red and black, always showing off her stomach, where she had a naval ring that she was very proud of. Her hair was fire red, and waist length with bangs that framed her face, usually worn up in a high ponytail. She had mastered fire, and could summon it at will, and would use it if angered too far.

As for how she lost her family, both of her parents had died in a boat accident when she was seven. They were all out at sea when a storm hit, and Autum was ordered to go under deck with her mother. She was still learning to control her fire, and when the boat gave a violent lurch Autum lost control. A hole was burned in the bottom of the boat and water filled in fast. Somehow she made it through that night wearing her lifejacket and the next day when the storm cleared up Sally went out and brought her back to shore. Autum met Seth when a year after she began working in the supply shop through Chris; at the time she simply knew him as the "spaz that was interning for Chris".

Seth grew out his "spazzy" complex though. As he grew older he filled out, and his physique changed. Seth was well built with chin length brown shaggy hair, and had brownish eyes with a red tint to them. He usually wore dark blue jeans with a black t-shirt; paired with wearing black leather boots and black leather fingerless gloves. Most considered him a "tough guy" or a "hot shot", but really he was a kind and sensitive guy, who would do anything for his friends.

When Seth was about five, he met a kid that lived on the other end of town. They became good friends, and one night, he invited him over in spite of his parents declining. The two were in their basement when his "friend" decided that they should play with some matches his parents had given him. And so, Seth not knowing to say no began playing with them. One of the matches caught some of the boxes and fire, and before they knew it, the entire basement was in flames. Seth and his friend ran, but only Seth got out of the basement. He tried to get to his parents and sister, but he got to scared and ran outside. He stood there, watching the house burn down with his family inside. He saw some black creature behind his house and said it was a Heartless. Trying to cope with what happened, he always blamed the Heartless.

Now that you have been thoroughly informed, at least to the best of my ability let's take a step away from back-story lane and get this story rolling. It all starts on a perfectly ordinary lazy summer day...


	2. Another Boring Day

**Another Boring Day**

Autum was sitting on a stool and leaning against the counter as she let out a sigh, "Today's gonna be another boring day." Seth walked into her shop silently. He then began looking around.

"I stand corrected." Autum said very quietly, and then she raised her voice a bit. "Hey, anything specific you're looking for?"

Seth looked up at her. "No, just browsing." Seth replied, and then resumed looking.

One of Autum's hands fell from her chin. "Alright, my name's Autum, if you need anything."

Seth looked up at her again, a slight smile on his face. "Thanks." He said, and then continued looking. Autum watched as Seth made his way around the store, without realizing it, she had started to stare.

Having the feeling he was being watched, Seth looked up. Upon looking up, he saw that Autum was staring at him. "Um...is there something wrong?" He asked. Just as he finished his question Yesenia walked into the shop eating a popsicle.

"Hey Autum, things over at the magic shop are kind of slow so I thought I'd pop in and give you a visit," Yesenia said taking the popsicle out of her mouth.

Autum snapped out of the stare. "Just admiring the scenery." She turned to the door. "Hey, Yesenia. Yeah, things have still been a bit slow here too. Everyone's gone on their annual adventures, so I don't have much business either." She looked to Seth and smiled. "But this young man here is my first customer in two weeks."

Seth looked at Autum again. He smiled slightly. "Glad to be of service." He said.

"Just make sure to buy something please, even if it's one of these cheep swizzle sticks." Autum held up the piece of candy, and took a bite. Yesenia began to stare off in a dreamlike state at the mention of adventures as she finished off the last bit of her popsicle.

"I'd like to be the one that goes on an adventure for once...Oooh candy, I'll take one. How much is it?" Yesenia asked.

"It would be fun," Autum said with a sigh, "but, alas, it isn't the kind of life for us islanders. The candy's two munny for a pack of eight, three for a pack of ten."

As Yesenia handed over three munny and took her pack of swizzle sticks she said, "Says who? We could go on an adventure if we wanted to. On our day off how bout it? We could go down to the beach and make up our own mini adventure if we have to. Better than staying home getting fat on swizzle sticks and popsicles..."

Autum gave a little chuckle at what Yesenia said. "You'd have to eat a lot of Swizzle sticks to get fat off of them. Why don't we just go by your next day off, as I basically own the place."

"Alrighty then," she answered, "my next day off is this coming up Friday."

"An adventure, eh?" Seth said, looking up at them. "Would you mind if I join? A little muscle could be useful." Seth stated with a smile.

"Well sure, what's your name?" Autum asked returning the smile.

Seth walked over to Autum and Yesenia with his unfading smile. "I'm Seth." He replied simply.

"Nice to meet you Seth. As you can tell by my tacky name tag, I'm Autum. This is Yesenia." Autum held out her hand as Yesenia gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"Pleasure meeting you." Seth said, taking her hand and shaking it.

Autum idly spun a bit of her hair that had escaped from her pony-tail around her index finger. The other girl started browsing around the shop eating the occasional swizzle stick and humming a tune that was stuck in her head. "So, what exactly is it that you do, Seth?"

"I uh...fight, I guess. My friend has a sword I can borrow." Seth said with a shrug.

Yesenia paused her browsing for a moment and looked over at Seth with a slightly puzzled look on her face, "You...fight? How d'you make munny off of that?"

"I don't fight for a living, I just know how. I help at my friend's shop sometimes." Seth replied. Yesenia simply nodded in response satisfied with the answer given and took a bite of her swizzle stick.

"Anyone we know?" Autum asked with interest.

Seth shrugged. "His name is Chris. He's got short blonde hair. He owns a shop up the street." He replied.

Autum tapped a finger to her chin trying to remember where she had heard that name before. It had sounded fairly familiar, she just couldn't place him "Chris, Chris, what's he do?"

"He sells weapons and shields and such." Seth replied.

A look of recognition spread across Autum's face as she realized who he was talking about, "I know him! Our companies are inter-connected. Were you that spaz that was interning there a couple years ago?" Yesenia smiled at the thought of Seth as a spaz, perhaps fumbling around with the weapons.

Seth blushed slightly. "That would be me." He replied.

Autum smiled. "I thought that you looked familiar!" Looks Seth up and down. "I can see that you grew out of that." A small blush found its way onto her face, which her friend reacted to with a knowing smile.

Seth smiled again. "I'm glad someone noticed." He said.

"How can I not notice! You were so scrawny! Now you're," she glanced him up and down again, "well, you!"

Seth scratched the back of his neck. "guess I'll take that as a compliment..."Seth said with a slight smile. Yesenia shook her head slightly, as she saw a crush develop right before her eyes.

"It is! I'm just not super great with words. At least I'm not as bad as miss swizzle stick over here." She gave a teasing smile to Yesenia.

"What? I am not bad with words...I just tend to get my foot in my mouth. Not literally. And what I think Autum meant is that she thinks you are...attractive, to put it lightly." She said laughing as Autum blushed again.

That comment made Seth blush slightly as well, "Oh, really?" He asked. He had never had anyone say he was attractive up until that moment.

Autum nodded softly. "Have you _looked_ in a mirror lately, Seth?"

"Yeah, but I don't think about that kind of stuff." Seth said, feeling slightly awkward now.

"Awww now I've embarrassed him" Yesenia said while laughing sympathetically. "You know what forget I ever mentioned it," she added with a smile.

"You didn't embarrass me, it's just..." Seth started to say, but couldn't think of what to say next. Yesenia smiled at Seth's inability to finish his sentence. "Either way, forget about it. Want a swizzle stick?"

Autum grinned. "I can change the subject if you'd like."

"Be my guest." Yesenia replied.

"As I said," Autum said changing the subject, "business has been pretty sucky for me lately, how's it been for you Yesenia?"

Yesenia shrugged at the question, "Yeah it's been really slow, hence why we're all going on an adventure on my day off!"

"Speaking of which, I should probably tell Sally about it later, so she knows to man the shop. Where do you plan on going on this 'adventure'?"

"Um...good question," she said thinking for a minute, "I was thinking of just winging it, or going down to the beach. Unless you have any ideas?"

"Maybe take a raft and see how far we get? Sally just bought a few rafts for us, told me to use them. I'll also grab a radio from storage to make sure we don't get too lost." Autum pointed her thumb behind her.

"Sounds like a plan to me...what if we find other islands?" Yesenia said thinking out loud.

"Duh! We explore! This is an adventure is it not?" Autum answered leaning one elbow on the counter.

"I know it is, I came up with the idea for it didn't I?" she said rolling her eyes, "What if we end up like those other two kids who ended up disappearing to like some other world?"

Autum took a minute to think. "Personally, I'd welcome a change from this island life. It's practically the same all the time. But I think that I'd miss it after a while."

"Yeah, I know I'd get homesick for this old island after a while," Yesenia added, "But it wouldn't bother me too bad with all that would be going on, the places we'd see and people we'd meet."

"So, where will we meet on Friday? I have to go tell Chris I can't help out that day." Seth said, taking a couple steps towards the door.

"I say we meet back here since Autum's the one supplying the raft, then we can all go down to take the raft out together. Sound good to you guys?"

Autum nodded. "Sounds fine to me. I hadn't realized you still worked there, Seth."

"Should I bring anything along?" Yesenia asked.

"Food, unless you want to live on fish and flash frozen crap." Autum said pointing to the shelves that held freeze dried foods. "And some clothes in a waterproof container, just in case a storm hits and we have to crash somewhere for the night."

"Can do Captain Autum" she said saluting Autum.

Seth just chuckled softly, shaking his head. "How about I bring a compass and other survival gear? I'm sure Chris has plenty of it." He said, opening the door. "I'll see you guys Friday." He said with a grin, and then he walked out of the shop.

"Okey dokey. See ya then." She waved bye to Seth. "And anything else we may need, I can get it from our storage." Seth then made his way towards Chris' shop, so he could tell him the news. Autum turned as Shelly emerged from the back. "Well, I'm headed for my lunch break. Maybe I'll pay a visit to our partners in business." She hopped off the stool and walked to the back door. "I'll see ya later Yesenia." Autum walked through the beads to the back room.


	3. Fire and Lightning

**Fire and Lightning**

Seth then made his way towards Chris' shop, so he could tell him the news about the trip, at that same moment Autum turned as Sally emerged from the back. "Well, I'm headed for my lunch break. Maybe I'll pay a visit to our partners in business." She hopped off the stool and walked to the back door. "I'll see ya later Yesenia." Then Autum walked through the beads to the back room.

Seth walked up to Chris, who was at the counter. "Do you really need me Friday?" He asked.

"No, why?" Chris asked.

"I'm thinking about taking Friday off, and possibly the weekend." Seth explained.

"Alright. Anything else?" Chris asked.

"I need a few things." Seth replied.

"Help yourself." Chris said, pointing to the back room. Autum skipped down the back ally and walked into the storage room of Chris's shop.

"Chris! Sally said to bring you food!" She shouted and held up the bag overstuffed with food.

Seth jumped when Autum came in. "Oh, hey. Chris is up front." Seth said, pointing to the other door.

"Mmmkay. Would you like a cookie?" She reached into the bag and pulled out a cookie. "Chocolate chocolate chip." She held out said cookie.

"No thanks, I'm good." Seth said, pulling a nice looking sword from a large wooden case.

"More for me and Chris." Autum shrugged and stuffed the cookie in her mouth. She then closed the bag up and skipped to the front. Chris was sitting at the counter, doodling on a piece of paper. Autum walked out from the back. "I know I'm supposed to use the front door, but Sally made baked goods and told me to deliver them." She handed the bag to Chris.

Chris looked up at Autum. "Oh, thanks." He said with a smile as he took the bag.

"By the way, I'm stealing your apprentice next Friday."

"So he said. Is he still in back getting some stuff?" Chris asked.

Autum grinned. "He's playing with a big sword."

Chris sighed, shaking his head. "Him and his weapons." He mumbled.

Autum smiled. "Well, I'm heading back to harass him some more, see if I can make that blush come back." She turned and headed back to the backroom.

Chris grinned. "Have fun." He said.

Autum smiled. "I will!" Seth was now putting some survival gear into a bag as she walked into the room and stood behind him; the sword was now strapped to his back. "So, what was that large sword you were playing with earlier?" Seth jumped again when she spoke.

He then turned to face her. "Oh, it's a sword Chris and I made." Seth said, pulling his sword from it's scabbard to show her. Autum looked at the sword searching for something to say about it.

"It's...uh...very shiny."

Seth grinned. "The blade is made of pure stainless steel. This baby can cut through wood like butter." He said.

"That's...nice." Autum said in reply.

Seth put the sword back in it's scabbard. "Not into weapons, are you?" Seth asked.

"It's not that, it's just that when it comes to battling without magic, I'm clueless. Sure, I can form my fire into the form of a weapon, and I can use a bow and arrow, but that's about it." She set her hand flat in front of her and sparked a small ball of fire.

"Yeah, well I'm the exact opposite." Seth said with a slight chuckle.

"Don't you know any magic?" she asked.

"Nope." Seth answered.

Autum tilted her head. "None at all? Not even a little bit?"

"Nope. No-one ever showed me any." Seth replied with a slight shrug.

"Then I guess it's time we paid a visit to Yesenia's store. Everyone has some magic in them." Autum grabbed Seth's wrist and pulled him out the back door.

"Um...okay." Seth said, letting himself be led out the door. Autum ran at a slow pace and led Seth to the magic shop. Looking around, she guessed that Yesenia hadn't come back yet.

"Ok, come over here." She let go of his wrist and led him to a wall filled with the tester staffs. Autum slid on the clear glasses sitting on a hook on the wall. "Here," she handed Seth the oldest looking and somewhat rusted rod. "Hold this like you would hold a sword."

"Okay..." Seth said removing his hands from his pockets and taking hold of the staff. Autum watched as the staff turned yellow and started crackling. She smiled and took off the glasses. She reached over and took the rod and put the two items back on the shelf.

"It seems that you can wield lightning, or thunder as it's also called. It all depends on where you go. It's not really enough that you can summon it bare-handed. But with some training, you should be able to get it with the help of something metal, like a sword!" She smiled.

"Um...okay." Seth said, trying to understand all that she said.

Autum heaved a big sigh. "C'mon, let's get some food into ya, and then I'll show you what I mean. Thunder and or lightning are very close to fire, so I can show you the basics of what I mean."

"Okay." Seth said with a slight shrug. Autum lead Seth back to her shop into the back room. She went to the storage shelf that held the magic revival potions.

"Here," she pulled down a blue green liquid. "Drink this, it tastes disgusting, but it will help you to start." She handed Seth the potion and went further down to grab a small bottle of the liquid and a box of strength crackers. Seth looked at the liquid, and then downed it quickly. He made the face that anyone makes when they eat something disgusting. "There's a practice field a few miles down the road, it's not the forest, so we'll be safe from creatures." Autum stuck the crackers and jug into a bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"Alright." Seth said with a nod, wishing the taste would leave his mouth.

"You'll get used to the taste after a while." Autum said, turning onto the road.

"Lovely..." Seth said, following her. Autum smiled and continued leading Seth to the field. When they finally got there, she set down the bag. From inside, she pulled out a very long sword.

"Here, take this and get into a ready stance." She handed it to Seth and pulled out a second one. Seth nodded, taking the sword and getting into a ready stance. "Ok, now listen very carefully. Close your eyes and feel deep inside yourself. Feel around for a small spark, take that spark and focus it into your sword." Autum explained. "You have to have complete focus." Seth nodded, and then closed his eyes, concentrating as hard as he could. Autum watched as the sword started to lightly crackle with power and smiled. "Keep focused on that, I'm going to attack you, using the same magic." she filled a bit of thunder into the sword and jumped at Seth. While still concentrating, Seth opened an eye when he heard her movements. He lifted his sword into and upward defensive stance, all the while still trying to concentrate on that spark. Autum observed as the lighting around Seth's sword staggered when he opened his eyes. She eased the power around her sword as the electrified metals clashed. "Good, keep that focus Seth." Seth nodded, still concentrating. He kept his eyes open, but slightly out of focus. That way, he's concentrating on the spark, but can watch Autum at the same time.

Autum sprung herself over Seth's head and threw the blade down, lacing it with less thunder than before. "Seth, I've been told the best defense is a good offence." She whispered into his ear as the swords clashed again.

"That it is." Seth said with a slight grin. Now that he knew about his 'spark' and where it was, he could concentrate a little more on his sword that the spark. With that, he swung at Autum, but not as well as he would if he wasn't splitting his concentration. Autum landed successfully, but barely managed a block.

"Seth, remember that I'm not that great with normal weapons." She squeaked out as the thunder crackled around them.

"I won't swing so hard then." Seth said. Autum rolled over and stood in front of Seth.

"We should stop for now, you'll probably get light-headed soon from using the thunder, and I don't think that I'll be able to carry you." She stuck her sword into the ground and walked over to her bag. Seth nodded, following her over to the bag while still carrying the sword. Autum pulled out the crackers and jug. She handed some to Seth and ate a few herself. Then she lifted the jug and drank a bit. "Here," she held out the jug for Seth to drink after he had eaten the crackers. "Regain your strength." Seth nodded, taking a slug of the juice.

"You know, this is kind of fun." He said.

Autum tilted her head. "What? Fighting, or hanging out with me?"

"Both." Seth replied.

Autum smiled. "I'm enjoying myself as well. Not even Chris has been around me this long without sparking my temper."

"Yeah, Chris is like that." Seth said with grin.

"Chris and every other guy on the island." Autum sat down in the grass and motioned for Seth to sit next to her. Seth walked over and sat.

"Are you hitting on me?" He asked playfully.

"Maybe." Autum replied with a wink. His cheeks turned a shade of red as he laughed. Autum smiled. "Knew I could get you to blush again." She flopped back into the grass.

Seth smiled. "You know, you're kind of cute yourself." He said with a grin. This time it was Autum's turn to blush.

"No I'm not. I'm just the tomboy that runs the supplies shop."

Seth smiled. "I like tomboys. I can actually have a conversation with them." He said.

"Yeah, and I like guys like you who don't assume things about me because I'm a girl."

"Nice combination, huh?" He said with a grin still on his face.

"Hmmm." Autum nodded. "The only thing that's true would have to be the fact that I tend to get a bit emotional when I'm on my period."

Seth laughed. "My mom was like that." He said, lying back on the grass.

"Seth, please tell me anything that you believe someone can't do because of being a girl, because I'd like to prove it wrong."

"In my mind, girls are just as good as guys." Seth said, putting his hands behind his head.

"I love you." Autum said in an overly serous voice with a straight face.

"Eh?" Seth said, looking up at her.

"I'm kidding! If I were serious, I wouldn't act so...well serious." Autum smiled to try to show more that she was not serious.

Seth laughed. "I figured, but still." He said with a grin.

"'But still'?" Seth just smiled, closing his eyes.

Yesenia walked up to the pair at the practice field and stood behind Seth's head. "Hey some kid said you guys were looking for me in the magic item shop? I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Seth opened an eye and looked up at Yesenia. She smiled back down at him, "Hey there. So what did you guys need...or am I too late?"

"I think we're good, but you'd really have to ask Autum. I don't know that much about magic yet." Seth replied.

"I just needed to see his element that was all. I used your glasses, it's the fastest way, hope you don't mind too much." Autum stared up into the clouds. "Hey, that one looks like a bird on fire!" She pointed into the sky.

Seth laughed slightly. "All clouds look like something on fire." He said with a grin.

"She teaching you magic huh? I use ice myself." She put her hands together and made an ice rose. "Good for battling and decorating, and not all clouds look like something on fire," she added lying down on the grass next to Seth to look up at the clouds.

"She's right Seth. See, that one looks like you!" She pointed more to her right. Yesenia turned to look in that direction and agreed.

Seth laughed. "That looks nothing like me." He said.

"That's because you're looking at the one that looks like a cow!" Autum said putting her head right next to Seth's.

Seth glanced at her, and then looked back up at the sky. "Well, that one looks like a dog." Seth said, pointing to a cloud.

"Uh...Seth? That's the one that I said looks like you." Autum said trying not to giggle.

"I'm not blind, and that doesn't look like me. Maybe it's the angle?" Seth said tilting his head slightly.

Autum shifted around so that se was right next to Seth and looked at the cloud with her head pressed against his. "No, I still say that it looks like you."

"Ah well, it's all a matter of interpretation. Or maybe Seth here is going blind" she says squinting to see if she can see the dog.

"I'm not blind, and I'm telling you, it looks like a dog." Seth said with a slight sigh.

"Seth, I don't see how it's a dog!"

Yesenia sighed and laughed it off, "You know we're just picking on you. Or at least I am."

"I still say its a dog." Seth said.

"I'm not picking on him! I'm serious. So are you saying that you look like a dog?"

"Aw, forget the stupid dog slash Seth cloud, it's already been blown away anyway" Yesenia said pointing to the blank piece of sky where the cloud was. She was growing tired of their disagreement.

"I don't know. You're the one looking at my face. Does it look like a dog?" He asked.

"Do you really think that I'd find the face of a dog kissable?" Autum said before she could think. Seth sat up and looked down at her. "What?" He asked. Yesenia rolled over on her side and set her face inches away from Seth's studying it carefully.

"I don't see any resemblance to a dog there." She says getting on her back again with a self satisfied shrug. Realizing what she said, Autum's face turned the color of her hair. "Uh...I said nothing!"

"So you didn't say you find Seth kissable?" asked Yesenia. Seth laughed slightly, lying back down. "Sure you did." He said, teasingly. Autum's face tuned a darker shade of red and she lowered her face into the ground. Seth smiled, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "Relax, it's no big deal." He said.

Autum pulled herself off the ground while her blushing had begun to subside somewhat. "Sometimes, having red hair really sucks." She said tugging on a loose tendril of flaming red hair.

"Why?" Seth asked Autum.

"You blush darker than a normal person would, and it's more obvious." She answered indicating her pale complexion, the curse of the red heads.

"Pft! That doesn't matter. My mom was the most blonde person anyone could be, and she turned as red as your hair." Seth said.

"What color do I turn if and when I blush?" Yesenia asked Autum.

At this point, Autum's skin had returned to its normal pale pigment. "Seth, red heads blush more than most colored hairs." She then turned to Yesenia to answer her question, "You know I've never seen you blush."

"Well I don't embarrass easily I guess. Like I can say...Seth I find you extremely kissable." She paused for a moment as if awaiting to see if a blush would creep up upon her cheeks. "See not blushing."

Autum smiled. "Lucky you."

Seth grinned. "Well, I don't know if I can let only two girls kiss me." He said with a playful smirk, lying down again.

"Getting a bit self centered are we?" Autum stated.

Seth laughed. "Maybe." He teased.

"I take back the kissable comment then." Yesenia smiled as she sat up and rolled her eyes. "Don't get a big head over that one comment. That's really unattractive, at least to me it is."

Seth shook his head slightly. "I'm just playing around, sheesh." He said with a soft chuckle. Yesenia got up on her feet dusting off her jeans thinking to herself that it was about time that she got back to her shop. Business was slow at best, but that didn't mean she could completely abandon her post at the register.

"I'd better get going." She said walking away from the pair still lying in the grass, "I'll see you guys later though."


	4. Thinking Face

**Thinking Face**

Later on after Yesenia had left, Seth and Autum continued their conversation procrastinating Seth's training in thunder for a couple more minutes and eating a few more strength crackers in the process.

"...I don't know." Autum rolled onto her stomach and stood up. "Well, care to try it again?"

"Sure." Seth said, jumping to his feet. Autum walked over to her sword and pulled it out of the ground. She charged it with a bit of lightning.

"When you've got yourself ready, attack me."

"I'll try to take it is easy." Seth said, closing his eyes for a moment to concentrate on the spark. When he got his sword charged, he opened his eyes and swung at Autum.

Autum threw her sword up in front of her and blocked Seth, her heels sliding back into the dirt.

"Too hard?" Seth asked. He wanted to learn to use magic, but he didn't want to hurt Autum in the process.

"Nah, I'm just weak." Autum shook her head and smiled.

"Then I'll hit lighter." Seth said.

"Ready?" He asked.

"You of all people should know that you never ask your opponent if they are ready, Seth." Autum threw her blade at a 45 degree angle with the ground, holding the hilt above her head. Seth then swung at Autum again, this time a little lighter. Autum ducked under the blade and swung from below. Seth took a step back and parried, then swung again. Autum blocked the blow, but fell to the ground, with Seth's sword standing next to her ear. Her hair stood on end from the electricity emitting from it. Seth grinned slightly, then released his focus on the spark and leaned his sword on his shoulder. He then reached down to help her up with his other hand.

Autum took the hand. "What happened to 'I'll swing lighter'?"

Seth smiled. "That was lighter." He said.

"Then maybe you should just pretend that you're fighting a five-year-old, because that's how strong I am with this heavy thing." Autum took the sword and stuck it into the ground.

Seth grinned slightly. "I'll keep that in mind." He said. Autum growled as she tried to down her hair, and it wasn't complying. She went to her bag and pulled out a hat, the one that she used when she first learned that she could do a bit of thunder. She pulled her pony tail out, shaking her hair loose and slammed the hat onto her head. Her hair fell into place. "Now I'm glad I thought to grab this thing." She turned around and looked to Seth. "So, think you've got it?"

"Yeah, I've got it. Unless there's anything else you want to show me." Seth said with a slight shrug.

Autum shook her head. "Nope, as long as you can remember that spark, you can channel it into a metal weapon. Tomorrow, we'll work on how much you use."

Seth nodded. "Want your sword back then?" He asked.

"It's not mine...I'm ah..." Autum gave a nervous chuckle. "Not supposed to handle weapons, unless it's a bow or made from my flames."

"Is it Chris'?" Seth asked.

Autum shook her head. "It's ours, but I'm just not supposed to handle any type of blade. The only pointy object I'm allowed to handle is my arrows."

Seth smiled. "Why not? If you want, I can teach you how to use it effectively." He suggested.

"Because it's a sharp blade. I'm not allowed to chop things in the kitchen even...not that I can, but that's beside the point."

"I mean, why not? Did you cut somebody or something?" Seth asked.

Autum gave a small laugh. "I'm a danger to myself and everyone around me. I had to slip them into the bag without Sally seeing."

"I see...you didn't do too badly earlier." He said. "I f you got a little more muscle in those arms, I'm sure you'd do just fine." Seth said with a smile.

"I have muscle, not a lot, but I can lift all the heavy supplies in the backroom. It's not like Sally can do it. I'm just not allowed to have sharp objects in my possession. Main reason is because of my temper."

Seth smiled. "I've got one too, so you're not alone." He said with a grin, resting the flat side of the blade on his shoulder.

"Mine's reeeaaaly bad."

"Oh, you still have yet to see me angry." Seth said with a slight smirk.

"And you I, put it this way: last time I got pissed off; Chris's brother still had hair."

Seth smiled softly. "So that's how that happened." Seth said.

Autum giggled. "Yup. I was still not in complete control of fire, and my anger got the better of me. It wasn't too funny at the time, but it is now. Even though he doesn't think so." The thought of fire made Seth frown. Autum's smile faded a little at Seth's frown. "Is something wrong?"

"It's...nothing." Seth said after a moment.

"It has to be something. You don't just go from smiling and having fun to frowning. My moods don't even change that fast."

"It's a really long story that I don't care to tell." He replied, looking down at the ground.

"Ok, I won't pry. But if you're going to get upset every time I use fire, then I'm gonna have to worm it out of you. We'll need to keep warm during our adventure." Autum grabbed the crackers, put them into her bag and pulled the string.

Seth nodded. "Here, you'll probably have to return that." He said, handing the sword to Autum.

Autum took the sword and slipped it into the holder on in the bag. "Yeah, just got to sneak it past Sally." Seth just nodded slightly. "Why do I get the feeling that you're all of a sudden getting distant?"

Seth looked at her. "I guess...I'm just thinking." He said.

"So that's you thinking face?" Autum tilted her head.

"Yeah..." Seth said. "I think...I'm gonna go home. Want me to meet you here tomorrow?" Seth asked.

"Uh, sure." Autum slid the bag on her shoulder. "Same place, about high sun."

Seth nodded silently, and then started walking back to the town, hands stuffed into his pockets. Autum heaved a sad sigh. Seth got back to Chris' shop and went upstairs, where his room was. He sat on the bed with a sigh, getting lost in his thoughts.


End file.
